Moonlighting
by JPsmiles
Summary: Face is moonlighting at the orphanage without the rest of the team knowing it.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Moonlighting  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Face is moonlighting at the orphanage without the rest of the team knowing it.  
>Warnings: None really…minor Face injuryillness. Oh, and one of the first stories I wrote.

Damn, he thought as he woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. Double damn, he thought as he looked at the clock and realized that he was 53 minutes late in checking in with Hannibal.

There were very few valid excuses for not checking in...and unfortunately, oversleeping wasn't one of them.

Still sleepy, Face reached over and picked up the phone. "Hello," he said in a rough morning voice.

"Face," Hannibal said with a sigh sounding relieved.

"I'm sorry colonel…"Face started but was interrupted by a now angry sounding Hannibal.

"You were sleeping, weren't you? Do you know how worried B.A. and I have been? And you were sleeping!"

Oh man, thought Face, I'm in trouble. Then he heard B.A. mumbling in the background and thought no, I'm a dead man!

"I'll give you exactly one hour to break Murdock out of the V.A. and get your tail to my place. Is that understood, Lieutenant?" Hannibal ordered.

"Yes sir," said Face feeling almost as if he should salute the phone. He wanted to add in an "I'm sorry', but there was a click on the other end before he had the chance.

Face took one of the quickest showers ever and jumped in his Vette. The short ride to the V.A hospital gave him some time to think. For the past month he had been helping Father McGhill over at the orphanage. They were short of night staff so he was moonlighting. So lately, Face had been playing fugitive soldier by day and childcare provider/maintenance man by night.

Truth be told, he was exhausted. He was lucky to be getting two or three hours of sleep a night. But, he didn't mind helping out Father McGhill. He owed him so much for taking care of him all those years ago in the very same orphanage…it was the least he could do.

And he hadn't told the guys about what he was doing either. They had assumed that he was going out with lots of women and staying out very late. Being an orphan was a part of his life that he didn't like to talk much about, so he just didn't correct them.

Face broke Murdock out by pulling the fire alarm. It lacked any style, but it was the fastest way he could think of to spring his friend in order to meet Hannibal's deadline. Good thing Murdock knew the drill and came flying out the door and over to the car shortly after the alarm sounded.

"Hey Facey…what's shakin'?" Murdock said as Face pulled off in a hurry. "You look stressed out…everything okay?"

"I missed check in this morning…Hannibal and B.A. are beyond pissed at me," Face explained to his friend.

"Not good, Faceman. You know how important check in is to Hannibal…he worries about us man," said Murdock gently. He wasn't trying to make his friend feel bad, but he was starting to worry about his nightly escapades lately.

"I know, I know…but I got in real late and barely got any sleep and…oh never mind," said a dejected Face. He wanted to tell Murdock the truth…he could talk to the pilot about most anything. But he just didn't want to get into it…it was just easier to take his lumps and move on than to talk about the orphanage.

That is if B.A.'s lumps didn't kill him first.

They arrived at Hannibal's apartment with a few minutes to spare. Murdock got out of the car while Face stayed seated a little longer. "You comin' muchacho?" Murdock asked. "Might not be a good idea to keep the guys waiting."

"You're right," Face said nervously, "I was just savoring what might be my last moment of freedom for a while."

Murdock chuckled, "while it's true that you are about to face one angry colonel and his loyal Mudsucker B.A., remember that they love you and will cool off…eventually."

Once inside Hannibal's apartment, Face stood in the middle of the living room unsure about what to do with himself. Hannibal and B.A. sat silently on the couch and didn't say a word. If there is one thing that could unnerve Face, it was silence. After what felt like an eternity, Murdock plopped himself between Hannibal and B.A. saying, "C'mon guys...give the Faceman a break. He's awful sorry and won't let it happen again. Isn't that right, Face?"

Face shot Murdock a grateful smile, "Um...yeah...I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry." Still there was silence. Face looked down at the floor...this was not going well. He could feel himself turning red and the room suddenly felt much warmer. Making matters worse is that he was so tired and whenever he was tired his emotions always felt magnified.

Hannibal sensed his friend's discomfort and felt a moment of sympathy for the younger man. "Listen Face. I think we can let it go this time. If it happens again..."

B.A. cut him off by saying, "it won't happen again, right sucker?"

"Right," answered a relieved Face. At least Hannibal was talking to him and B.A. was snarling at him...all good signs.

Murdock pot his arms out and said, "I feel a group hug comin'...what do ya say fellas?"

"No!" they answered in unison as pillows came hurling at Murdock's head.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Moonlighting  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Face is moonlighting at the orphanage without the rest of the team knowing it.  
>Warnings: None really…minor Face injuryillness. Oh, and one of the first stories I wrote.

For the remainder of the week, Face continued to burn the candle at both ends without causing any alarm to his teammates. By Saturday morning, however, his exhaustion level had hit an all time high. He sat in the van on the way to Hannibal's latest training session and could barely keep his eyes open.

"Okay, here's the deal guys," Hannibal started as Face swallowed a yawn, "the faster we get through the course, the faster we get to go home. If you are too slow, you will repeat the course until I am satisfied."

Unfortunately, Face could not hide his next yawn and he found six eyes staring at him.

"Am I boring you Lieutenant?" Hannibal scowled.

"Sorry Hannibal...you know how car rides make me sleepy. I'll be ready...don't you worry." He flashed them one of his signature smiles, but Face _was_ worried. These training days were tough even under the best circumstances. But, here he was, sleep deprived and just not feeling very good in general.

Hannibal had set up an obstacle course filled with all sorts of "fun" as he liked to put it. This included a ropes course, a bunch of walls to climb, mud to crawl through, a pond to swim across, and a three mile run concluding with a nice steep hill.

"Okay men...you have three hours to get through the course. If you miss the deadline, you will run it again. Let's move out!"

Normally this course would have been challenging for Face, but he would have completed it with time to spare. Today, however, he was moving slow and his muscles just felt heavy and fatigued from the start. He was able to keep up with the others until it came time for the swim. At first it wasn't too bad. In fact the water felt refreshing against his hot, sweaty skin. But then he just felt like he was drowning...no pun intended.

From then on it was an effort to complete each task and he watched his friends move further and further ahead of him. At last he reached the steep hill and it took every ounce of energy he had to make it up and over. As he reached the guys he noticed that Hannibal looked angry and Murdock and B.A. looked at him with pity.

"Three hours and two minutes...you're late Face...get up and go again." Hannibal said.

"Aw, c'mon Hannibal," Face panted doubled over with his hands on his thighs. "I was just two minutes late." He knew there was no way he would make it through again.

"Doesn't matter...you were late. Maybe you'll spend less time partying with the ladies after today and start focusing on your obligation to this team."

Face knew there was no use in arguing...once Hannibal made up his mind about something, there was no changing it. So, he started up again and decided that no matter what happened he was going to finish the course. And that is exactly what he did...but this time when he reached the end he was by himself.

Face collapsed to the ground and just lay there looking up at the sky. He was hungry, wet and physically exhausted. And worse of all, now he was alone.

*******************************************************************

"Hannibal, this ain't right. It ain't right to leave him out there by himself, no matter what he been doin' lately." B.A. said as he drove the van away from the training site.

"Yeah Hannibal," Murdock added, "it's gonna be getting dark soon and he's got no way to get back."

"Listen you two...I'm only doing this because I care about Face. If he doesn't learn his lesson, one day he's going to wind up getting himself or one of us into trouble," Hannibal reasoned pulling a cigar out of his pocket. "Besides, it's only a few miles back to his place...he'll be fine. I don't want to hear one more word about it."

They drove the rest of the ride in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Moonlighting  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Face is moonlighting at the orphanage without the rest of the team knowing it.  
>Warnings: None really…minor Face injuryillness. Oh, and one of the first stories I wrote.

Face half walked-half jogged the way back to his place. By the time he showered and got dressed he really wasn't feeling well at all. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball on his bed and sleep for a thousand hours, but he was already running late to get to the orphanage. He was tempted to call Father McGhill and tell him that he was sick and wasn't coming in, which would not have been too far from the truth. However, he didn't want to let his old friend down. He was getting up in years and probably needed the time to rest much more than Face did.

As Face was getting out of his car he could feel how tight his muscles were…he was going to be very sore in the morning. As always, he stopped by Father McGhill's office to say hello and see if there was anything that needed fixing.

The priest was sitting behind his desk when he saw Face, or Templeton Peck as he called him, enter the room.

"Templeton, come on in my boy!" he said with a welcoming smile. The smile disappeared from his face as he saw the way Face was moving and how tired and pale the younger man looked. "Are you feeling okay, Templeton? You don't look so good."

Face didn't want to worry the father so he smiled and said, "Oh yes, I'm okay. Just a bit tired, but once I get moving I'll be just fine. Is there anything I can do later after the children go to sleep?"

"Well, there are some light bulbs that can use changing in the gymnasium," the priest answered still not convinced that Face was telling him the truth. "But only if you feel up to it."

"You got it, Father. I better be getting to the kids now before they start climbing the walls," he said while slowly pushing himself up off the chair.

Father McGhill couldn't help but notice the grimace that crossed over his face. 'One of these days that boy is going to have to slow down,' he thought to himself. But he was awfully proud of the man he had grown to be in spite of all the trials he had been through in his life.

Once it was lights out and all the children were sent to their rooms, Face set out to change those light bulbs. He grabbed a ladder and headed for the gymnasium. He was relieved that the kids had gone to bed. While he did enjoy spending time with them, he had started to develop a wicked headache and the noise wasn't helping any. He had changed 3 of the 5 bulbs when Father McGhill came into the room.

"Just wanted to say goodnight my boy…and thank you. Please rest up and take care of yourself."

"Will do father," Face said from atop the ladder. "I…ah…I…," Face stammered as he started to feel very dizzy. Before he could right himself, he lost his balance and came crashing to the floor with a thud.

"Templeton!" Father McGhill gasped running over to the figure laying on the floor.

Face groaned, "I'm okay, I'm okay…just lost my balance for a second." He tried to stand up, but felt a sharp pain in his left knee. "Darn, Must have twisted something," he mumbled sitting back down.

"Here, let me help you," Father McGhill offered reaching his hand out to help Face up. "That's it…I want you to go home right now and rest. Are you okay to drive or should I call your friends to come get you?"

"No, no…don't call them!" Face said a bit too quickly and firmly. In a softer tone he added, "really, I'm okay. Nothing an ice pack and some sleep won't cure." He shook the priest's hand, said goodnight and limped out to his car and headed for home.

By the time he got to his apartment, his knee was throbbing along with his head. He opened the door, hobbled over to the couch and was out cold by the time he hit the pillows.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Moonlighting  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Face is moonlighting at the orphanage without the rest of the team knowing it.  
>Warnings: None really…minor Face injuryillness. Oh, and one of the first stories I wrote.

The next morning Face heard the phone ringing in the distance. He knew he should pick it up, but he wasn't exactly sure why. It rang and rang and rang, but he just didn't have the energy to move. His head felt so heavy, he felt so hot and his whole body ached. After a while the phone just stopped ringing.

Face missed check in again. This time Hannibal wasn't worried…he was fuming. He picked up B.A. at the garage he was working at and they headed over to the V.A. to get Murdock. The main reason he was picking up Murdock was to keep him from severely injuring his second in command.

Upon entering the apartment building lobby B.A. spotted Father McGhill heading toward the elevators. "Hey, ain't that Father McGhill?" he asked.

"Yeah, it sure is," said Murdock. "I wonder why he's here."

Hannibal called out to the priest who turned and walked over to the men.

"Hello gentleman. I am very glad to see you. Templeton would probably be quite upset with me if he knew I were here checking up on him. Such a proud boy he is! It's just that I've been so worried about how tired he has been looking lately."

"Unfortunately Father, that is what happens when one spends all his evenings out late partying." Hannibal said as gently as he could to the older man whom he had grown to admire tremendously based upon what Face had told him.

"I'm afraid I don't understand. Templeton has been working the night-shift at the orphanage for me for the past five weeks," the priest said. Hannibal, Murdock and B.A. just stood there taking it all in. Father McGhill continued on, "I'm here because last night he just looked awful…tired and sickly. He was changing some light bulbs and fell off the ladder. I wanted to call one of you to get him, but he wouldn't let me. I just had to come and make sure he was okay."

"We had no idea," gulped Hannibal suddenly feeling quite small. Then he started to get nervous. "Don't worry Father, we are on our way up there now. We'll take care of him and will call you later."

"Oh thank you…what a relief. I better leave you to it then. Templeton is very special to me, but I do understand how important his privacy is to him. You three have a special bond and have been able to get closer to him than anybody ever has…myself included," Father McGill said a bit wistfully. "Take care of my boy." And with that he exited the building.

Hannibal, B.A. and Murdock wasted no time getting up to Face's apartment. Skipping the elevators they ran up the stairs and began pounding on his door.

When they got no response B.A. said "Stand back". Throwing his body weight at the door he busted through the lock and they were in.

Face was tossing and turning on the couch in the middle of what looked to be a nightmare. He was mumbling, "Don't leave me…why'd you leave me?" over and over again.

"What have I done?" said Hannibal as he looked down upon his sweat-soaked friend. He gently laid a hand on Face's shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. "Face? Face, wake up. You're having a nightmare."

Face became still, but his eyes remained closed.

"He's burning up," Hannibal said. "B.A., get me some cold towels. Murdock, go see what kind of meds are in the bathroom cabinet." Hannibal sat down on the edge of the couch and rested his hand on Face's knee. "Why didn't you tell me, kid?"

"You didn't ask," Face answered in a weak voice, his eyes remaining shut. "You can go. I'm fine." Face was far from fine, but he was hurt that they had left him the other day.

"Face you're sick. We're going to take care of…"

Hannibal was interrupted as Face jumped off the couch. Landing on his bad knee he yelped and fell to the floor. Hannibal reached over to help him up but stopped when he saw the look on his Lieutenant's face.

"Don't touch me. You didn't care about me yesterday when you left me out in the middle of nowhere. Don't pretend to care about me now." Face was breathing hard and he had a feverish look in his eyes. He grabbed on to the coffee table and pulled himself up to a standing position.

Hannibal noticed how his body position was tilted to the right as if trying to keep his weight off his left leg. "What's wrong with your leg?" he questioned, trying to assess the degree of Face's injuries.

"I said I was fine," hissed Face.

B.A. and Murdock were walking back into the room, but stopped dead in their tracks as they noticed the stalemate between their Colonel and Face.

"Why don't the three of you just leave? I'm a big boy…I can take care of myself. I've been doing it my whole life…I don't need anybody…and that includes the three of you!"

By now Face was leaning heavily on the coffee table desperately trying to stay standing. He didn't want to show them just how awful he was feeling. Unfortunately, his body didn't want to cooperate and the room started to spin in front of him. Face shook his head in an attempt to clear the spots that were clouding his vision, but that only made the dizziness worse.

"I…um…I don't feel so good," he mumbled swaying slightly.

Hannibal ran to his side just in time to catch his friend before he keeled over.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Moonlighting  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Face is moonlighting at the orphanage without the rest of the team knowing it.  
>Warnings: None really…minor Face injuryillness. Oh, and one of the first stories I wrote.

Face felt somebody place a cold cloth on his forehead. He slowly opened his eyes to see B.A. sitting next to him, his usual "Bad Attitude" expression replaced by a smile as he saw that Face was awake.

"How long have I been out?" asked Face as he tried to push himself up into a sitting position.

B.A. gently pushed him back onto the pillows saying softly, "Stay down, fool. Remember what happened last time you tried to get up?"

Face smiled weakly. "Where are the others?"

"They getting some rest. How ya feelin' man?" B.A asked.

"I'm fine." replied Face. Those words seemed to be coming from his lips way too often lately.

"The truth, Faceman." B.A. ordered.

"Really B.A., I do feel better. I think I've just been overdoing it lately is all. My knee does hurt a bit though."

His knee hurt more than a bit, but nothing compared to the hurt he felt on the inside. He was hurt that his friend's has just assumed he was out womanizing every night. Is that what they thought of him? He was hurt that they just left him on his own after the training. They knew that his biggest fear was being left alone…it had happened too many times in his life before he met up with the team in Nam. Most of all, however, he hurt because he hadn't been able to open up to his friends from the get go. Why did he always have to put up a wall…even with his best friends?

"I'll getcha an ice pack for that knee and see if we got any stronger pain killers," B.A said heading off to the kitchen. He felt uncomfortable and needed a moment to gather his thoughts. He was never one for heart-to-heart conversations, but he felt as if there were some things Face needed to hear. When he came back into the room Face had rolled his left pant leg up and was gently probing a swollen and distorted knee. "Kind of gross looking, isn't it? I guess I won't be running again anytime soon. Oh well, that's what I get for being klutzy enough to fall off a ladder," Face sighed.

"Here man," B.A. said handing the ice pack to Face along with a couple of pills. "And being klutzy don't have nothin' to do with it."

"Thanks B.A." Face said with a smile.

"Yeah…you wasn't klutzy…you was just stupid."

Face's smile disappeared and he looked down slightly as if trying to avoid eye contact with his friend. He was sure that B.A. was really going to let him have it now.

"Ah man…I didn't mean it to come out like that man. You know I ain't that good when it comes to saying what's in my heart sometimes…somethin' you and I seem to have in common lately." Face looked up at the big guy and nodded in agreement. "Listen Face, we all feel real bad about what happened. We should have never left you after the training. Murdock and I tried to tell Hannibal that, but you know Hannibal."

"Yeah, that I do." Face interjected, shaking his head at how stubborn his commanding officer can be. It was nice to hear that Murdock and B.A. objected to leaving him, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed that it was Hannibal who had pressed for it.

As if reading Face's mind, B.A. added, "Hannibal is torn up 'bout this. He just wanted to teach you a lesson before you got yourself hurt. Guess his plan didn't come together this time." B.A. cracked one of his rare grins…the kind that was contagious. Face couldn't help but smile back at him. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that we're sorry. But, why didn't you tell us what was going on?"

"I don't know B.A. I was close a few times, but it's like if I talk about the orphanage at all, then I have to think too much about the fact that I am an orphan." He could feel his eyes getting moist and he faked a cough to cover it up. "I mean, it wasn't all that bad, but I don't like to be reminded that I don't have a family."

"That's just it, fool…yeah, you do. A very strange family…but that's what we are bro."

Face couldn't keep the tears from welling up anymore…he didn't like to cry, especially in front of B.A.

"I even consider that fool Murdock to be my brother…just don't go tellin' him I said that."

Face wiped at his eyes and laid his head back on the pillow.

"Get some sleep Faceman. We ain't goin' anywhere this time." B.A. stood up and headed for the door when Face called out to him, "B.A.?"

"Yeah?" B.A. answered.

"Thank you…bro," And with that he closed his eyes and fell into the most peaceful sleep he had had in weeks.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Moonlighting  
>Rating: PG<br>Summary: Face is moonlighting at the orphanage without the rest of the team knowing it.  
>Warnings: None really…minor Face injuryillness. Oh, and one of the first stories I wrote.

Hannibal, however, couldn't sleep. He kept hearing Face say "don't pretend you care about me now" and "I don't need anybody". The hurt look on his face was haunting his dreams. He should have known better. Sure, Face did like pretty women, but he had never put his social life before the team.

He was beating himself up over not noticing how sick and tired the kid started looking. It wasn't the kind of tired a person would get from having too much fun…it was the kind of tired a person would get from too much work. After lying there for a couple of hours, he finally decided to get up and fix himself a snack. It's not like there was much else he could do at 4 a.m.

Hannibal had to settle for peanut butter and jelly. 'For a guy who likes to dine out at the most exclusive places, Face sure as hell doesn't eat that way at home.' Maybe because home never stayed home for very long.

Half-way through the sandwich, he heard footsteps in the hall. 'Must be one of the guys hitting the head,' he thought.

When those footsteps abruptly stopped, he became suspicious. He left the kitchen only to find Face leaning heavily against the wall with a pained look on his face.

"You okay, kid?" he asked not making a move toward his Lieutenant.

"Yeah," Face replied with a grimace, and then quickly changed his answer. "My knee must be worse than I thought...needed to take a rest"

Hannibal desperately wanted to hurry over to his friend and help him, but he didn't know if Face would let him. So he just stood there awkwardly holding half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He could lead men into battle and fend off the military for over a decade, but here he stood paralyzed. He knew that Face was angry at him and had every right to be. He had left him alone to fend for himself…the one thing that he knew Face feared the most. He couldn't expect Face to want anything to do with him anymore.

"So, um, do you think you could, um, give me a hand?" Face nervously asked. He was sure the colonel was still angry at him. He had been avoiding him like he had the plague. And now here he was acting like a wimp and asking for help. But, he figured he had two choices: crawl back to his room, because he sure couldn't walk, or ask for Hannibal's help. Both of them felt humiliating…he hated to show weakness in front of the man he admired so much…but crawling would probably be the worse of the two.

"I thought you'd never ask," Hannibal beamed as he walked over to Face and helped the injured man put his arm over his shoulder. Slowly they made their way back to Face's room in silence.

Once Face was settled back into bed Hannibal said, "We'll have Maggie check that knee out tomorrow." With that he started to leave the room. He paused in front of the door…he didn't want to leave the room when there was such a big elephant still in the middle of it.

Face must have been feeling the same way for they both blurted out "I'm sorry" at the same time. Neither man knew how to react, so they didn't.

After an awkward couple of minutes, Hannibal walked back over to Face's bed and sat down on the corner. "Listen Face, I've been such a jerk." Face opened his mouth as if he was about to object, but Hannibal held up his hand. "Yes, I have. I'm sorry for leaving you the other day and for just assuming that you were out every night on the town. I'm also sorry that you didn't feel you could trust me enough to tell me what was really going on."

Face couldn't help but notice how sad the older man looked. Hannibal was not the kind of guy who liked to apologize for anything...he must really be feeling bad. "It's not that I don't trust you. God, I trust you with more than I have ever trusted anybody...and that goes for B.A. and Murdock too. I think it's that I don't trust myself enough to deal with my feelings sometimes. It's just easier to avoid them then to talk about them. Hurts too much," Face said, his voice trailing off with the last statement.

Hannibal nodded his head in understanding. "So are we okay?" he asked patting Face on the hand.

"Yeah, we're okay. Heck, we'll always be okay...we're family." Face smiled. "B.A. told me so."

"He did?" Hannibal chuckled. "B.A. is a very wise man."

"Can I ask you one more thing, Hannibal?"

"Anything, kid?"

"I'm hungry…you gonna eat the rest of that sandwich?"

Hannibal laughed and handed it over. "I love it when peanut butter and jelly come together!"

The End


End file.
